With the introduction of new software, designing a website these days for a business has never been easier. No longer the domain of the programmer, website design can be undertaken without any knowledge of code at all. Website builders offering drag and drop options or themes that require only editing make creating a website something any one can do.
If you have an ecommerce site your income stream may seem obvious but what else can you do to make money? Or perhaps you have a brochure site for your business, an information site or a blog. In all these cases the options for making money from your website are varied.
How do you build traffic
Its difficult to make money with a website that doesn’t draw many visitors. The number of people who visit your website is referred to as traffic. The more traffic the more popular your website. For the income streams described in this blog to work you need to generate at lease some traffic.
You can build traffic by promoting your website through social media and other online platforms. This form of marketing is free, and if done well, really effective. You can make money with a website, even if the traffic is moderate.
The most common way of building traffic is through advertising, although there is a cost involved. Ads can be placed on websites or in apps, and they’re usually targeted. If your main source of income comes from advertising on your website this form of building traffic may not be the most cost effective.
Making money with Google AdSense
Google adsense is a programme that allows website owners to earn money from their website by displaying Google ads. Google ads are text, image, or video advertisements that are placed on websites by Google. When someone clicks on one of these ads, the website owner will earn a commission.
We’ve all seen the Google AdSense adverts on websites. They’re the ads that sit between the paragraphs of a blog, next to a photo or in the middle of an article. To get started you simply add a few lines of code and Google takes care of the rest.
Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is a popular way to make money with a website. With affiliate marketing, you partner with other businesses and promote their products or services. If someone purchases a product or service through your affiliate link, you earn a commission. There are many affiliate networks you can join, such as Commission Junction, ClickBank and ShareASale.
Website advertising
The best way to make money from your website is by adding banner ads, but you would need to drive significant traffic to your site if you want to attract the big advertisers. Banner ads are the large, eye-catching ads that sit at the top or bottom of your page. They’re usually square or rectangular, and they can be either static or animated. You can also use pop-ups, which are small ads that open up as you scroll down a page.
As with all advertising, you’ll need to spend a little time setting up your account and creating ads that are relevant to your audience. Once you’ve got the hang of it, making money from website ads can be really rewarding.
And finally…
Not using your website to make money through advertising is a wasted opportunity. More and more people are shopping online. By driving traffic to your site you open up some lucrative income streams. In fact, according to a report by Forbes, the top 25% of websites generate 70% of all online revenue. In other words, if you create and market your website well, there is the potential to build a business from advertising and affiliate marketing alone.